2001 Individual Investigator Grant Recipient – Jingwei, Yu

DNA methylation, the addition of a methyl group to a cytosine residue, is an important modification of DNA molecules essential for normal human development. This modification is often altered in cancers, including ovarian cancer, and this modification is thought to be part of the cancer process. Dr. Yu’s previous studies suggest that the alteration in DNA methylation occurs at a very early stage of ovarian cancer development in an apparently cancer type-specific fashion. Dr. Yu also has identified several ovarian cancer-specific alterations in DNA methylation. The purpose of this study is to develop ovarian cancer specific biological markers based on these DNA methylation alterations and those to be further identified. Such markers will provide basis for leading to novel strategies for diagnosis and prognosis of ovarian cancer and for further investigation of the mechanism of ovarian cancer development.